Improvement in boxes for packing and preserving tobacco



L. WERTHEIMER. V Boxes for Packing and Pvreserving Tobaccmf No. 139,747. P'atentedjune od mg.

AM Pfiarowrnoemmlc an All (assanns's moans) UNITED STATES LEOPOLD WERTHEIMER, OF NEW YORK,

IMPROVEMENT lN BOXES FOR PACKING AND PRESERVlNG TOBACCO.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139.74 '7, dated J une I0, 1873; application filed May 6, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEOPOLD WERTHEI- I 'MER, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boxes for Packing and Preserving Tobacco and other substances, of which the following is a specification The packing-box, in which my invention is comprised, has been designed especially for tobacco, but will be found useful for packing other substances. In the following description I shall, however, mention only tobacco, as it is in connection with this article that the advantages of my invention are particularly noticeable. it

Packing-boxes for tobacco are made usually like any other boxes, and require to be broken open whenever it is desired to inspect the contents. Very often the opening of the box is for the purpose only of inspection, or it may be of taking out a sample or retailin g a small quantity of the article; and when this has been done, either the box must be nailed up again or the contents must necessarily be exposed to the atmosphere, which causes the article to deteriorate quickly. But so soon as any appreciable quantity of the tobacco, as, for instance, plugtobacco, has been taken from the box, the after-nailing on of the cover is of little avail, owing to the air inclosed and shut in the box, which soon has the effect of causing the tobacco to mold and sometimes swell.

My object is to remedy these and other disadvantages growing out of the same causes, and to this end I make one of the sides, preferably one of the end pieces, capable of sliding up and down in the box, so that it shall be in some sort a follower-plate, which can be pushed down in proportion as the quantity of tobacco in the box decreases, and thus always be a tight cover fitting closely down onto the top of the tobacco remaining in the box. This sliding top, as I shall call it, not only can be moved up and down, but is also so arranged that it may be drawn out horizontally from the front of the box in order to expose the top layer of tobacco whenever desired. The box at its top is preferably furnished on the interior faces of two, three, or all its sides with cleats, constituting a flange extending around the interior of the box to prevent the sliding top from being pushed entirely out, and to hold it inplace when the box is full of tobacco. i

The above arrangement of a sliding top is to exclude air from i the interior of the box above the top layer of tobacco.

It is also desirable to provide means whereby one of the sides of the box need not-be entirely removed each time it isrequired to obtain access to the tobacco. To this end I make one of the sides in two or more sections hinged together, so that only one section may be dropped or untastened at a time, whereby I avoid the necessity of removing the whole side, and am enabled to uncover only so much of the tobacco as is needed for immediate use. i

The conjoined employment of the two abovementioned features in a packing-box is of I great advantage, and enables me to .preserve thetobacco, or other article in the box, from the injurious exposure which the use of the ordinary packing-box necessarily entails.

The manner in which my invention isor may be carried into eflect will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective "iew of my improved box, represented full of tobacco, with the upper hinged section of the side unfastened and dropped. Fig. 2 is a like view of the same box partially emptied of the tobacco,

with the sliding top pushed down upon the uppermost layer of theremaining tobacco, and the second hinged section of the side unfastened and dropped. The box A, except in the particulars hereafter mentioned, may be i of any ordinary or suitable construction and material. The sliding follower plate or' top is shown at B. It fits snugly within the box, and is capable of sliding up and down therein. I prefer to place cleats a, or their equivalents, on the interior faces of the three sides of the box, to prevent it from being pushed out when the box is full; and when prepared for transportation it may also be secured by screws 1), although this is hardly necessary. The top can also be drawn out from the front of the box whenever desired, after the removal of the side of the box, which corresponds to the front, thus allowing access to bereadily had to the top layer of tobacco. The mode of using the top is fully illustrated in the drawing and requires no further description. The side, formed of two or more sections hinged together, is shown at O, composed, in this instance, of three sections, 0 0 0 When the box is first opened only the upper section 0 is unscrewed and allowed to drop, thus exposing but a small portion of the contents of the box, the remaining portions being kept closely and tightly covered. In proportion as the box is emptied of tobacco, the succeeding hinged section or sections are unfastened, and thus only so much of the tobacco is exposed, as will be likely to be required for immediate use; and at any time, when the tobacco is not required, the section or sections needed to cover the tobacco can be raised and fastened in place by one or more screws or pins.

When the quantity of tobacco has so far diminished as to require the removal of the bottom section 0 this section can be taken off from the box entirely, since by this time there will be so little tobacco in the box as to render the side no longer of great use. Thus the sliding top keeps the air out from above the tobacco, and the hinged sectional side performs the same office at the front of the box, so that whatever tobacco remains in the box can be tightly shut up and kept from exposure quite as efi'ectually as it was before the opening. of the box.

It will be understood that the box can be made of any size and dimensions and of any material. The sectional side can be composed of two or more sections as required by the length ot'thebcx. For some sizes two sections will answer; for others, three sections, as shown in the drawing; for others again of larger size more sections may be needed. This, however, is a matter which is at the discretion of the manufacturer.

The hinges which unite the sections may be of any suitable construction, and of metal or other material. A strip of linen, or other fabric or pliable material of proper strength, pasted along the contiguous edges of the sections will answer the purpose.

Boxes of the above description can be made almost as cheaply as ordinary boxes, the in crease in cost being trifling, and of little account, as compared with the decided advan tages obtained.

Having now described my invention, and

the manner in which the same is or may be carried into efl'ect, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A packing-box for tobacco and other at ticles, provided with a sliding top capable of moving up and down within the box, and arranged for operation substantially as'and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a packing-box of otherwise ordinary or suitable construction for tobacco and other articles, a sectional side, composed of two or more sections hinged together and arranged so that the sections may be successively opened or dropped, to expose only so much of the tobacco or other article as may be needed for the time, keeping the remainder tightly sealed and covered, substantially as shown and set forth.

'3. In a packing-box, the combination of a sliding top capable of moving up and down in the box, and a sectional front composed of two or more sections hinged together, under the arrangement and for operation as shown and set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification before two subscribin g witnesses.

LEOPOLD WERTHEIMER.

WVitnesses:

M. BAILEY, JOHN BrLKLE-Y. 

